Am I the cook? The Mom? The professor? The maid? The neighbor? The PTA member? The friend? The daughter?
Over the course of the day Moms (and Dad's) are asked to "change their hat" what feels like a hundred times. As a work from home Mom I feel like these "changes" double. As I sit down to finish up some grading, read some papers or answer e-mails someone almost always needs a drink or the phone rings or the IM starts buzzing. You are then asked to quickly jump from job to job all the while being careful that the e-mail to a frantic student doesn't include words from the conversation you are having with the five year old.
There are times I wish I had literal hats or signs or something. That way when the kids want a drink they would know to wait until my "Mom is in" sign replaces the "virtual office hours now" sign. The neighborhood kids would know that the girls can't play right now because their Mom is still at work. Try explaining to five year olds why you can't drop your work day just to go outside. It ain't easy.
It's a juggling act and we all do it. The balls we have in the air may look different but every Mom still has to throw them. One after the next after the next and just pray the majority stay in the air. If we're lucky we have a week where we drop very few. I don't have many of those weeks but they happen... once in a while.
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1 comments:
I'd think trying it with real hats, including the wearing of 2+ at the same time could be a fascinating experience for the family. Thesis what Mom is doing now...
It could be fun/ educational for say 1-2 weeks, much past that it would just be a chore. And possibly divisive.
RocketGrl
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